Ch.226225. Time Limit (1)

# 225. Time Limit (1)

After that battle, fortunately, the world enjoyed a brief moment of respite.

Of course, it was still just a very short time.

Only two days had passed, after all.

“Still, it’s not as bad as I thought.”

The main force had fought well on their end, and while there were certainly casualties, the number was much lower than expected.

It seemed they had helped by cutting off the enemy’s reinforcements from behind.

“Isn’t it bad by your standards?”

“Yes, it is. Terribly so.”

In the end, the Empress I had tried to protect met her death.

If not for that, it would have been the best possible outcome, but that one fact had decisively changed the course of the war.

Not just me, but everyone in the Empire mourned her death, and naturally, the imperial family—especially the Emperor and her—grieved the most.

In her case, though she didn’t show it openly, it was still visible enough.

“The situation seems… really bad.”

“Don’t blame yourself too much. That only makes things worse.”

“Of course.”

Though I said that, I couldn’t completely rid myself of the guilt from failing to protect her.

Still, I couldn’t stay in this mood forever.

“I’m going for a walk. I’ll probably be back before dinner.”

With that, I headed toward the place where the battle between Solomon and the Imperial Army had taken place.

It wasn’t far from our lodgings, so I could get there quickly.

Repair work was in full swing at the site.

They were clearing away the remnants of magic spells and filling in the cratered ground.

And above all… the vivid smell of blood still permeated the area.

‘It’s quite something…’

It was small compared to what was expected, but not small in absolute terms, so it was unavoidable.

Even now, unidentifiable corpses were scattered throughout the area.

I bent down to examine the bodies more closely.

‘Demons…’

The magical energy still heavily lingering and the horn on the forehead proved that fact.

This person was a demon.

Come to think of it, most demons, like us, hated war and loved peace.

This person probably didn’t participate in the war of their own volition either.

‘How pitiful…’

Now I had some breathing room to think about it, but in my previous life, such things happened often in the Kainis Empire too.

People who knew nothing about fighting had to join the war just to increase numbers, or young children had to pick up swords…

It couldn’t be helped.

We were too weak to worry about such things.

Of course, we didn’t forcibly conscript them.

Everyone volunteered of their own will.

But whether it was truly their pure volition was something that needed to be reconsidered.

‘Even now, in the Babylon Kingdom, are such people increasing one by one…?’

Realizing this, I wanted to end this tragedy as quickly as possible.

Though with the Emperor in his current state, that would be difficult.

I headed toward the current battlefield, about 2km from the city walls, along a large hill where a psychological battle was ongoing with the enemy scouts.

There, the Hero was still standing guard without rest despite all her hardships.

“Aren’t you tired? You can’t relieve fatigue accumulated in your body with holy power, can you?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m still going strong. Besides, who else would do this if not me?”

That was certainly true.

Amelia’s eyes could see farther than anyone else’s while also being more accurate than anyone else’s.

It was definitely the perfect job for Amelia.

“That’s true. Please push yourself a little more.”

“…?”

Amelia looked at me with wide eyes.

It was as if she was saying, “What nonsense is that?” I asked her in response to her reaction.

“What?”

“Isn’t it normal to tell someone not to overdo it at times like this?”

“It’s because you’re the person who can notice the enemy’s movements first.”

“You’re so… cold, so cold.”

Amelia, as always, turned her eyes here and there while asking me a question.

Since she couldn’t look me in the eye, it felt like having a phone conversation.

“By the way, how is everyone?”

“Well, His Majesty… hasn’t left his room, and the Crown Princess isn’t much different.”

“That’s understandable. I’d be the same.”

“But can you actually see anything?”

“Not yet—oh!”

Finally, she must have spotted an enemy, as she immediately drew her bowstring and, having already aimed, released her hand right away.

The arrow flew at a speed like light.

-Whoosh!!-

With a loud wind sound, the arrow flew.

I watched until its trailing form disappeared from sight.

“Did you hit?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“That’s awesome.”

“I have to at least do this much. But they’re all good at blocking.”

While it would be a death sentence for ordinary soldiers, it wouldn’t be much against executioners like Amon and Basago.

Even if shot by Amelia, they were just a few arrows after all.

“That’s why I have to work hard at even this.”

“That’s a good mindset.”

“And you should get some rest. You must be tired enough, and still you came to help us in that situation.”

“I came because I had the capacity to, really.”

At that, Amelia finally met my eyes.

She was staring at me intently with an expression that said she couldn’t believe it at all.

That made me smile awkwardly.

“Haha… you don’t believe me, do you?”

“Would you believe it if you were me?”

“I guess not. I should go back and rest. As you said, we don’t know when it will start again.”

Amelia’s sincere advice—I decided to obediently follow it.

However, I didn’t return to the lodgings right away.

For a while, I walked through this city without any particular purpose.

Perhaps because a major battle had taken place here not long ago, the only people around were soldiers and mercenaries.

Even those weren’t many, so it was debatable whether there were really people here at all.

“It’s quiet…”

I watched the soldiers busily carrying various materials.

It was good to see the soldiers working hard to fill in the broken city walls.

But I couldn’t smile at the sight.

“Will those people die?”

-Goo…-

“Really? That’s unfortunate…”

Without minding the eyes around me, I approached those people.

Then I spoke to them as they greeted me brightly.

“If you knew you were about to die soon, what would you do?”

“What…? What do you mean…?”

“I’m just asking, out of curiosity.”

They replied with still bright smiles.

“We’d still work, of course. We are soldiers of the Kainis Empire.”

“That’s an admirable answer. I hope you keep that spirit. Always.”

It seems that as long as those shadows are attached to them, they can’t avoid death.

These people didn’t seem like they would stay back even if I told them not to go out.

The Empress, too—I tried so hard to protect her, but in the end, I couldn’t.

“Can’t I change this?”

-Goo…-

“Oh, really? That’s a shame… Then can you change it?”

-Goo…?-

It says it hasn’t tried.

I spoke to the Abyss, which couldn’t give a clear answer to this question.

“Then you don’t know?”

-Goo!-

“I hope it works.”

I don’t know much about this being.

All I know is that it feeds on magical energy and life force.

That’s why I had high expectations for it.

It might be able to do things I can’t.

“Let’s walk a bit.”

I wasn’t alone, but I walked through this place by myself.

In this paradoxical space—an advanced city yet with no people in sight—I listened to the sounds of nature and felt the clean breeze.

As I walked slowly, enjoying the surrounding scenery, my mind became somewhat peaceful.

I could forget, if only momentarily, the burden and guilt I had been carrying.

“The weather is quite nice…”

Ironically, the weather was good.

Despite it being winter, it wasn’t as cold as usual.

Being out in such nice weather made everything from before until now feel like a dream.

“Would I wake up if I pinched my cheek?”

With that thought, I pinched my cheek.

Ouch!

It hurt.

Naturally, it wasn’t a dream.

“That’s unfortunate…”

It seemed time to return to reality.

It was good to be able to distance myself, if only in my heart, from that enormous tragedy for a very brief moment.

“I should go now…”

The sun had already set.

I looked at the sky growing darker.

Darkness was gradually falling over the sky that had been clear just moments ago.

I headed toward the lodgings while looking at that sky.

Just before entering the building after arriving at the lodgings, I had this thought.

‘I didn’t do much… but it doesn’t feel that way.’

It felt somewhat fulfilling.

Unlike usual, just being able to clear my head was meaningful in itself.

But apart from that, I felt strangely uneasy.

Something was missing.

Without realizing what that missing piece was, I entered my room.

“Huh…?”

The shoe rack in my room.

There was already a pair of shoes there.

Until now, she and I had used different rooms, as she seemed to need time alone.

But now, it seemed that time limit had passed.

I entered the room, holding onto the pounding of my heart—the first such feeling today—that had suddenly started.

And there she was, in her pajamas, waiting for me.

“You’re so late… I’ve been waiting for you all this time…”